Hi Phil,
I've seen quite a lot of that sort of mentality among state agencies and
among certain blind computer users myself. I think that attitude comes
from the fact so many blind employees have to work twice as hard to get
anywhere in the business world, to over come various mainstream
attitudes of blindness in general, they end up taking work far too
seriously. They end up putting their computer over in the work column
and other things like music, audio books, etc over in the entertainment
column. Which doesn't have to be. Here is a case in point.
I have a friend I met in college around 1997 or so. I was pursuing a
degree in computer science and he was going into marketing. After he
left college and got a job with a company with a marketing firm in
Cincinnati BSVI fit the bill for a computer that came with Jaws,
Openbook, Microsoft Office, and other business software for his home
use. After he got the computer I urged him to check out Audyssey,
audiogames.net, etc for some great games he could install on his new
system. His reply was simply this. "Well, BSVI purchased this computer
so I could do work at home, and it wouldn't be right if I began using
it for games and things like that. If someday I buy my own computer
maybe I will check out some of those games, music mp3s, and other stuff
out there for the computer. However, for now since this is BSVI's
computer I'm just going to use it for work."
I don't know how common this attitude is among blind computer users, but
this example may give us some insights in to why it is so hard to market
our games outside the Audyssey and audiogames.net communities. It is no
secret BSVI, BVR,and other state agencies tend to purchase computers for
any blind student attending college or entering the work force who needs
one. As a result many may feel as my friend does that the computer
isn't really theirs and that because it was purchased for work and
school purposes that is all they are allowed to do with it. They may
feel by installing games etc on that computer they are being dishonest
or at the very least will appear to be goofing off on a computer
intended for work only.
I really can't say myself, because I didn't go through the state
agencies for my computer systems. I purchased my own computers and got
them to fit the bill for my education, books, reader writers, etc. So
since the computers were actually mine, paid for by my own money, I felt
this is my computer and I'll darn well use it as I please. Perhaps those
who get computers through state agencies don't feel that way about their
computers, and feel compelled to toe the official line.
Phil Vlasak wrote:
Hi Thomas,
That is the comment we got at the blind conventions.
Computers are for Jobs and not for Play!
They told us that they preferred to read a book or listen to the radio
if they wanted entertainment.
It is like someone asked them to try eating some frozen cow's milk
mixed with vegetable seeds and they didn't like the concept so did not
try the chocolate ice cream.
Or maybe they were afraid they would like the games so much they would
be addicted to them and not want to do work.
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